


A Glimmer of Hope

by NataFreak



Series: Kinky Umbrella Stories [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Anxiety, Biologically Dominant, Biologically Submissive, Bottom!Allison, Brothers, Building trust, Caretaking, Dom/sub, Dominant Diego, Dominant Luther, Drug Use, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs Help, Klaus and Diego are not related, M/M, Past Abuse, Power Imbalance, References to Canon, Sub!Klaus, Submissive Allison, Submissive Klaus Hargreeves, Top!Diego, Top!Luther, Trust Issues, bottom!Klaus, dom!Diego, emotional walls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:27:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29295882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NataFreak/pseuds/NataFreak
Summary: In a world were everyone is born as either a Dominant or a submissive, Klaus has finally reached his limit. Because he has refused to submit to anyone for far too long, his body is revolting against him.His friend is so worried about him that she decides to have him committed so that he can get the proper help.
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves
Series: Kinky Umbrella Stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2172129
Comments: 26
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Can't Escape My Biology](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26002048) by [stratumgermanitivum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stratumgermanitivum/pseuds/stratumgermanitivum), [whiskeyandspite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiskeyandspite/pseuds/whiskeyandspite). 



> Another story in the Everybody Loves Klaus series of mine. Hopefully not as dark as the first, but still with plenty of Klaus dysfunction to go around ^^
> 
> The dynamic/setting of this fic was inspired by another work (see the top of these notes). I love that fic and many other stories of theirs within the Hannibal fandom, so if you like this fic, you should totally go check it out :) They are amazing writers <3
> 
> This will be a fairly short story (at least for me) and I imagine it will be around 5-7 chapters in total.

"Mr. .. Mr. Har.. Mr. Hargreeves!" The nurse was quickly losing patience with the submissive in front of her. He was clearly in a state and he refused to listen to reason. 

Klaus on the other hand felt trapped. Trapped and panicked. He could tell that the nurse was a Dominant and as always that sent him on edge. He didn't want her to touch him and when she shouted at him, he had climbed up on the back rest of his chair and pressed himself into the corner of the wall to get as far away from her as possible. He had swatted her hands away multiple times already and her getting agitated only freaked him out more.

"Sit back down please, Mr. Hargreeves. I need to get this blood sample for the file." She reached out for him again, but Klaus couldn't let her get near him, so he lifted his foot and placed it at her midsection to hold her at bay.

An exasperated sigh left her, when she finally stepped back. "Fine. I will have to report this. Stay here until further notice." Then she turned her back and walked away, allowing Klaus to finally ease down into the chair again. He pulled up his feet though and encircled his knees with his arms - trying his very best to ignore the other visitors of the emergency room who were openly staring at him. To avoid their gazes, he turned his face towards the wall and without thinking about it he started biting at the nonexistent nail on his left thumb. He was rocking softly back and forth in an unconscious attempt to sooth his rattled nerves.

He knew that this was bad. This was very bad. Why on earth had Allison taken him to the goddamn emergency room?! He had only fainted a little. Nothing out of the ordinary - at least not for him. And it was certainly nothing that would permit a friend to commit him like this. 

Reluctantly he had to admit though that the dizzy spells had gotten more and more frequent over the last couple of months. But he could deal with that. He  _ was _ dealing with that. Committing him like this felt like betrayal. She had to know that this would cause problems for him. That the withdrawal symptoms wouldn't go unnoticed. That it would be put in his file now. 

His breathing was shallow and he felt another dizzy spell coming on, but he struggled to fight it off. Now was not the time to check out. Not when he wasn't sure what would happen next. With shaking hands he pulled out a small plastic bag from his pocket and swallowed one of the pills with the ease that came of practice. It wouldn't do a whole lot of good, but if he was lucky, it would take the edge off. Hopefully enough so that he could function. Maybe even allow her to pierce his skin...

He had no idea how long it had been when the nurse returned, but thankfully he was no longer dizzy. She was accompanied by a doctor who, by the look in his eyes, also was a dominant. It made a certain amount of sense. He had of course been put in the submissive wing of the hospital and most submissives responded positively to being surrounded by Dominants. Just not Klaus.

The doctor also tried to persuade him to allow them to draw his blood, but just being this near to not one but two Dominants at the same time had Klaus shaking his head and cringing back into his seat when they reached for him. Thankfully they didn't try to force him. The doctor made a few notes on his chart and then disappeared again - leaving Klaus breathless at the thought of how much trouble he was in right now.

\------

Adoptable. The word stunned Klaus, because he had never imagined that it would ever be used to describe  _ him  _ and he had the utmost trouble accepting that this was actually happening. But of course it was. After the way he had acted in the emergency room it shouldn't even have been a surprise. But it was. Worse than that. Now his condition was marked in his charts. He was officially a danger to society. A deviant. A bomb ready to trigger at any moment. 

He felt helpless in it all as he once again had his knees tucked against his chest while he waited for his world to be turned upside down. He knew that footage of his behavior had been put online along with his physical characteristics and sexual orientation, but how the hell he had been chosen within a single day, he had no idea. He was no model submissive. Pretty much as far from it as could be. Whoever had chosen to adopt him had to be mentally disturbed. Probably even insane. Or maybe just a sadist who got off on his fear? Either way it didn't look good for Klaus and his breathing was shallow as he slowly allowed himself to realize the full extent of his new future.

Of course he had considered just trying to flee. But even if he could get around the two big security officers at the exit - where would he go? It wasn't like he could get a decent job. Not with his new status. And to be quite honest, he hadn’t been able to get a decent job before either. He would be on his own - discarded and detested by society as a whole. He wouldn't survive long. Klaus had never been adept at surviving anything except abuse. Why try to change that all of a sudden? 

He popped another pill from the bag that no one had thought to take from him. It was his third this morning, but he didn't know how else to get through the day. He had just swallowed it, when a deep voice called for his attention.

"I am here to pick up Klaus Hargreeves."

Klaus tried his best to focus on the man who spoke, but his eyes wouldn't completely cooperate, so all he saw was a blurry dark figure near the counter and the nurse who pointed to Klaus. They exchanged a few words and the man seemed to get some papers that he then signed and returned, but Klaus was paying less and less attention as his mind drifted and he wasn't sure if he had just blinked or actually dozed off, when suddenly there was a face right in front of him. 

It was a man with a shoulder-length of wavy, dark hair and a goatee. His skin was like desert sand and his eyes a dark brown. "Klaus?" The voice was friendly and maybe even a bit concerned, but Klaus just nodded and said nothing. He had seen it all before. Done it all before. No reason to think this man to be sincere. He was a Dominant after all.

"My name is Diego. I am going to be your Dominant now." 

He seemed to be waiting for some sort of reaction, so Klaus tried to send him a smile. Why the hell not? He was supposed to try and keep this man happy after all. Otherwise he would be the one hurting for it. He wasn't completely sure how well the smile turned out though. He couldn't really identify his face muscles.

The man frowned. "I'll just go and ask the nurse a question," he said and reached out to pad Klaus on the knee. Immediately Klaus pulled away though and all but cringed to the back of his chair in sheer reflex. 

The man - Diego - let his hand drop with another frown before he got up and walked to the nurse. Klaus relaxed a bit and then chuckled without humor as he pondered how it would go, when Diego would complain to the nurse about his defective submissive. Maybe they had a two year warranty on people like him? The thought made him laugh again and he hid his face in the nook of his elbow to try and hide it, although he couldn't stop his shoulders from shaking.

He had no idea how long it was until Diego had knelt down in front of him again, but when it happened, he made an effort to focus. This time Diego had his hands buried deep in the pockets of his leather jacket.

"I would like you to give me your drugs."

The request was so ridiculous that Klaus snickered again before shaking his head. "Nh-nh... I need them not to die.." He snickered again and then fell silent. There was more he would like to say, but he couldn't form the words and it probably wasn't even that important anyway. He wrapped one of his hands around his neck while he looked at Diego.

"I won't stop you from taking it," Diego then said and now Klaus was the one frowning, as he struggled to focus on Diego's face. "I would just like to hold on to them. If you want some - if you  _ need _ some - all you have to do is ask."

He was lying. Of course he was. But what choice did he really have? He had no rights here. There were no limits to Diego's power, now that he owned him. If he wanted the pills, he would simply hold Klaus down and take them from him. And afterwards he would probably beat him senseless for disobedience. No. Better to give them over willingly. Besides. If he died from the double withdrawal, he would finally be done with this world.

Even though he had already decided to do so, it still took some time before Klaus actually reached into his pocket and pulled out the plastic bag. And then, careful not to touch any skin, he placed it gingerly in Diego’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! 
> 
> If there is something that you would like to see me write for this series, just let me know in the comments and I will see if I can incorporate it. And please share if you liked this first chapter too ^^


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has left me kudos and comments on this story already! I was almost blown away from the many reactions :D

Klaus didn't remember much of the trip to Diego's place. All he remembered was getting the choice of where to sit and choosing to climb in the back, where he fell asleep almost instantly. He didn't wake again until the car held still and Diego had stuck his head in through the open door to call for him. Klaus got out and realized that they must have driven for quite a while to get somewhere this remote. Diego had stopped in front of a medium sized log cabin that laid in the middle of some kind of dense woods. The air was colder too and Klaus guessed that they might be a little ways up a mountain or something. He drew in a short breath and shuttered at the realization of just how isolated they were here. Probably so no one would be disturbed by his screams, Klaus thought grimly to himself and made sure that he was a few steps out of reach of Diego as he led the way to the cabin.

The cabin was cold and most of it was arranged as one, big room. It had a bed in one corner and a seating area close by with a couch and a few chairs and a fireplace. In the other end of the house there was a small kitchen close to the cabin's only other door. Diego informed Klaus that the bathroom was that way along with the pantry. 

Klaus blew him a great, big, fake smile. "Well isn't this cozy?" he commented and looked around as Diego put his backpack down next to the door and went to the fireplace, where he started rummaging around with logs and paper. "Let me just get a fire going and then we will talk about our situation," he said over his shoulder and Klaus chewed his nail at the promise. He was dangerously close to sobering up. If he had had access to his pills he would have taken one now, but Diego had them. His eyes flickered to the backpack. Maybe they were in there? He took a small step closer to the bag but then stopped. How was he supposed to find them without Diego noticing while they were in the same room? Diego had said that he would let him take them, but that had obviously just been a pretense to get him to hand them over. If he asked for them there was a very distinct possibility that Diego would beat him for it. No. It was probably better to lay low right now. Diego was acting rational at the moment, but he didn't know him that well yet. He had no way of knowing what would set him off. Besides. He had alternatives.

"Do.." Klaus cleared his throat. "Do you mind if I go outside to smoke a cigarette?" He did his best to sound normal and even cheerful - even though he was under the control of yet another Dominant.

Diego didn't turn around to look at him. He just continued with his efforts and answered over his shoulder. "Sure. Just be sure to close the door for the warmth and to come back in, once you are done."

Klaus had expected a line of questioning, but when it didn't come he just shrugged and went outside. Closing the door firmly, he hurried around the closest corner and fumbled out his cigarettes with shaky hands. He got one out, put it between his lips and lit it, all in one fast, practiced motion. Then he breathed in deep for the first time since he had woken up in the hospital. He let the smoke roll around in his lungs for as long as possible and then slowly breathed it back out. He inhaled another deep lungful of smoke and relaxed back against the wall of the cabin. He felt the effect of the drugs almost instantly and visibly relaxed. He hadn't willingly been clean since he was a teenager and he didn't plan to start now.

While he smoked, he looked the area over. There were no neighbors to be seen on this side of the cabin either, but that was probably well enough. He still had nowhere to go, if he ran. All he could do was to stick this out, at least until Diego had reported a positive change in his behavior. Once his file was amended, Klaus would be free to live his life on his own again. He was half done with his joint, when he sighed and put it out against the heel of his shoe and tucked it safely away in the pack. If Diego was going to hold on to his pills, then he would have to make these last. Before putting the pack back in his pocket though, Klaus hesitated and looked at it for a few seconds. Eventually he opened it up again and drew out two joints. He hid them in a little crack between the logs and the roof of the cabin along with a lighter. They would be for emergency purposes.

When he came inside, he could already feel the warmth of the fire spreading in the cabin. As he had been told, he shut the door firmly and stepped out of his shoes by the door, before he moved closer to Diego who waited for him on the couch. Diego even smiled a little, which made Klaus uneasy, but he still came closer and seated himself in the chair opposed to Diego. Without even thinking about it, Klaus drew up his feet and rested his chin on his knees.

"Thank you for coming back in, as I asked." Diego's voice was calm and he still had that little smile in the corners of his mouth.

Klaus smiled wryly and tilted his head to the side. "Where else am I really going to go?" he replied and scoffed without humor.

Diego looked him over and the smile seemed to turn sad. "Still. I am grateful that you listened to me." He paused for a moment while Klaus struggled to find out what to do with his apparent gratitude.

"I hope that you believe me, when I tell you that I truly want to help you. You are not the first submissive that I have adopted like this and I have had some success in helping them resume a normal life."

Klaus just stared at Diego. So that was the reason then. He wasn't even picked, because Diego wanted him. He was simply just a number to the man. Klaus suppressed a shutter at the thought of what such a  _ professional _ Dominant would think to be a 'normal life'. He was pretty certain that it wouldn't align with Klaus' own expectations. He didn't reply though. Clearly this was a rehearsed speech and the sooner Diego got to give it, the sooner they could get on with this. If he was going to endure some savage reconditioning, he would rather do it while he was still riding his high. 

Diego seemed to wait for a response, but when it didn't come, he continued. "Let me start by promising you that I won't touch you, until you say that it is okay." 

He eyed Diego with only thinly veiled suspicion at that. Diego wouldn't keep that promise, he was certain of that. This was an attempt at manipulation. Lulling him into a false sense of security. He was certain that if he were to deny Diego of skin contact for even a full week, the Dominant in front of him would take matters into his own hand. And to be quite honest, he was tempted to test Diego on this. It wasn't like Klaus reacted particularly well to a Dominant's touch anyway.

If Diego sensed what was going on in his head, he didn't react to it. He just paused while keeping eye contact and didn't continue until Klaus had looked away. "If you want to, you can touch me though." Klaus snorted at the image of him trying to stick something up Diego's nose just for the fun of it and he saw Diego smile too and add; "In a respectful manner of course" as if he could read his mind. 

"While you are here, you will have to adhere to a schedule." Klaus sighed and theatrically rolled his eyes. "Again with the schedule," he muttered under his breath and was surprised to hear Diego chuckle slightly. "I won't make it too strict," he promised and Klaus just raised his eyebrows sardonically and waited.

"We will get out of bed at 7 am. Breakfast is at 8 am and then we will go for a walk together. When we get home you will have some time that you can dispose of yourself until 12 noon where we will have lunch. At 2 pm we will meditate for half an hour and after that we do an activity together of your choosing until 4 pm. We have dinner at 6 pm and bedtime is at 10 pm. Outside of meals, walks, meditation and quality time you don't have to have anything to do with me, unless you want to." 

Klaus struggled to see how this schedule was gonna make a difference. When he had been put on a schedule in the past it had left him with no free time whatsoever. Schedules were designed to keep the submissive busy and to not think about their situation too much.  _ This _ was... Well what was the point even of this? He didn't argue though. He liked that Diego apparently didn't expect him to be glued to his side. He didn't expect it to last and he hated schedules as a rule, but since he couldn't escape having one right now, for the time being this would be bearable. So when he realized that Diego was waiting for him to react, he nodded once that he had understood.

"Good. I will write up the schedule on the board on the wall there, so that it will be easy to remember."

Klaus nodded again but otherwise kept silent. Then Diego sighed slightly.

"Then there is another thing." Klaus could hear how Diego's tone changed to something more serious and he shifted uneasily in the chair.

"Am I wrong in suspecting that your cigarettes pack an extra punch?" 

He felt a twinge in his gut, as he was careful to avoid Diego's gaze. This was it then. This would be the first of many punishments for transgressions. His pulse quickened and he instantly began sweating. He wondered how Diego would punish him without touching him, but for some reason he didn't doubt that Diego would find a way. 

"Am I wrong in assuming that, Klaus?" Diego's voice was firm and Klaus had to swallow hard to get the lump out of his throat. "No Sir," he managed to whisper, while looking at the floor in front of Diego. Scenarios kept materializing in his mind. Memories that he really couldn't handle to remember right now. He didn't even realize that he was shaking slightly from the strain of it.

"I would like you to hand them over then," Diego said and Klaus hesitated only long enough to remind himself that this was why he had hid the two joints outside. It wasn't much. It was next to nothing. But it was enough that he could pull the pack out of his pocket and place it onto Diego's waiting hand.

"Thank you," Diego said and Klaus waited for the order that would rip the last pieces of him apart. 

But it didn't come.

He watched as Diego put the pack into his own pocket and leaned forward a little. "Like I told you in the hospital.. I won't stop you from taking these drugs, if you actually need them. All you need to do is ask me for it and I will allow you to take some. All I want is to make sure that you don't use it excessively. I want to make sure that you take better care of yourself than you did this morning."

Slowly Klaus felt his pulse slow down as he realized that Diego had no intention of punishing him. And that maybe - just maybe - he was telling the truth about his drugs too. The fear for punishment had ripped out any sense of the buzz he had been sporting from the joint and he was desperate to numb himself again. Desperate enough to test Diego's promise.

It took several long minutes for Klaus to gather up the courage to ask. He kept trying to steel himself to do it and then chicken out at the last moment, but eventually he forced himself to continue. "Can I have a pill?" His voice was much more timid than he generally liked for it to be, but there was no room for flamboyance in this moment. 

He saw Diego smile a little before he reached into his pocket. "Of course you can, Klaus. Thank you for asking me for it." Klaus dismissed the gratitude as manipulation once again and focused wholeheartedly on the plastic bag that appeared in Diego's hand.

He watched as Diego opened it and shook out a single pill onto his waiting palm before reaching it across the space between them - offering it to Klaus. Klaus hesitated to reach for it though. This felt like a trap. If he reached for it, he would be offering up his wrist to Diego's hand. Diego could grab a hold of him without effort and do God-only-knew-what to him. But if he didn't reach for it, he would soon be sobering up. He only had the two joints to keep him going for however long he would be here and he knew without a doubt that it wouldn't be enough. Besides.. If Diego wanted to grab him, he could do so at any time he wanted.

Slowly and carefully Klaus reached out his hand - watching every tiny movement that Diego made like a hawk. Only now did he realize that he wouldn't be able to pick up the pill without touching Diego's skin at least a little. But there was no way around that if he wanted the pill. And he definitely  _ did _ want the pill. So he swallowed hard once and then quickly picked up the pill and pulled back his hand. When nothing happened besides Diego returning his own hand to his pocket, Klaus managed to relax a little. 

"Thank you for trusting me," Diego said in a low voice.

Klaus hurried to swallow the pill while looking away from Diego.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That is it for this chapter ^^ Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did :)
> 
> I will love you to the perfectly unexploded moon and back if you leave me kudos and comments <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter just wouldn't let me be until I had written it out. Hopefully you won't mind the quick update ^^

Days passed by with not much happening. Klaus followed the schedule as he was supposed to and Diego continued to thank him for doing it so dutifully. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the gratitude that Diego continued to shower him with and that irritated Klaus to no end. There was no reason for Diego to be thankful. Klaus was a submissive and as such shouldn't expect any praise or even attention for simply following his Dominant's rules.

And _there_ was the other thing. Over the course of the last week, Diego had kept his promise never to touch Klaus. And nothing bad had happened. He had been very surprised, when Diego had insisted that he take the couch so that Klaus would have the cabin's only bed all to himself. Klaus suspected that it had actually been in an effort to avoid touching him even when he was asleep. It had the intended effect though that Klaus slowly had begun to think of Diego as his Dominant. Not willingly and not deliberately. But he had caught himself thinking it a few times when he had been sitting alone and thinking during his spare time.

Diego had also continued to stick to his word and allow him to take the drugs when he needed to. Only once had he refused Klaus when he had asked for a pill and if he had to be honest with himself, Diego had been right in suspecting that he hadn't really needed the pill when he asked. He had just been bored and restless as there wasn't much to do in the cabin. But Diego had pointed out that it had barely been an hour since he had asked for one and Klaus had accepted his ruling with a grumbling noise.

Although he continued to ignore Diego during his spare time, it was getting harder and harder to keep his defenses up, when he was expected to socialize with the man. Even during meditation, where he shouldn't even talk, just being near the man had his thoughts running in loops around him. He was beginning to wonder if maybe Diego actually _was_ different. If _maybe_ he could trust him enough to let Diego dominate him. He wasn't sure though if this was actually something that he wanted. He had had only brief periods of time in his life in which he had enjoyed being Dominated. It wasn't like with Allison who swore she couldn't live without it. Klaus could easily live without it. He _had_ been living without it.

But he couldn't deny the fact that the withdrawal symptoms had gotten better just from being in the same house as Diego. He wasn't as shaky as he had been just a week ago. He was calmer and less depressed than he had been in years. The trouble was of course that he still was waiting for Diego to turn around and negate on all the things that Klaus had come to depend on since he got here. It made him careful not to allow Diego too much power over him. 

The periods of spare time were slowly becoming a problem though. He was bored out of his mind just sitting in the bed or the chair and looking at anything but Diego. The place didn't even have a TV for God's sake! Diego was the only other thing around here that even _moved_ without being kicked at...

A few times Klaus had found a place to sit, where he could look at Diego from behind. That way he had plenty of time to divert his eyes and look at something else, if Diego were to turn his head. It was especially in the evenings, where Diego had a habit of going out into his small workshop out back and doing all kinds of things with metal. He had a small forge out there and as far as Klaus could see without going inside, Diego had plenty of homemade knives in there. More than Klaus was comfortable with anyway. He was almost happy that that door had a sturdy-looking deadbolt and that Diego always locked it up tight, when he wasn't there. But watching Diego hard at work with that or chopping wood - even preparing their meals - was at least something for Klaus to do during the day.

He still had trouble sleeping though. Still plagued with the nightmares he had spent years trying to escape. He always asked for a joint before bed and he got it too. But it never failed that he woke up at least two and sometimes three times a night. In the beginning, Diego had been kneeling beside the bed when he came to, asking if he was alright. But since Klaus had answered each and every concerned question with a turned back, he had stopped doing that. Klaus wasn't fooled though. Almost every night he could tell from Diego's breathing that he too had been awoken by his nightmares.

One evening after almost two weeks in the cabin, Klaus felt like he was going mad from sheer boredom. "Can't we do something?" he asked without considering that this was the first time he had spoken to Diego during his spare time. He was sitting in one of the chairs and Diego was sitting on the couch and they both had a book in their hands. Klaus hadn't been able to read it though. His body was shaking from the need to do something. Anything.

"Of course we can," Diego looked up from the book that he was seemingly engrossed in. How he could just sit still like this for hours on end was beyond Klaus' comprehension. "What do you have in mind?"

"Aaaaanything other than just _sitting_ here." Klaus answered in an exasperated tone and gestured between them. He noticed the quick smile on Diego's lips but didn't realize that it was due to his less-than-timid tone of voice.

"Anything?" Diego's tone and lifted eyebrow were suggestive and it made Klaus stop short for a moment. He pulled back in the chair by reflex, while he scrutinized Diego's face - looking for signs of danger or deceit. When he found none, he exhaled slowly and swallowed hard. It wasn't exactly what he had had in mind. Not right at this minute in any case. But he was very aware that he _had_ been thinking about it. And that it was a step that they would have to go through eventually.

"You still won't touch me?" he asked and hated how pleading his voice was.

Diego's dark eyes were calm but direct. "I promise," was the short reply.

He deliberated for another long moment, but then nodded his head in one short bob. His heart was racing from fear and - which surprised him - anticipation. "Okay."

"Okay," Diego's nod mirrored his own and Klaus shifted in the chair uncomfortably, when Diego closed the book and put it down on the table.

"Tell me. Are you still uncomfortable with you touching me?"

Klaus swallowed and had to take a minute to think the question over. He hadn't wanted to touch Diego in the beginning, but he had had to, when Diego handed him his drugs. He had refused to touch him otherwise, but now that he thought about it, he realized that it by now was more out of stubbornness than anything else. Diego hadn't moved so much as a muscle without signaling it clearly, when they were in contact with each other and Klaus didn't even think about their skin touching anymore.

"No I... I guess not," he said with surprise coloring his tone. Something heavy fell from his chest at the same time as he realized this and he couldn't help but smile.

Diego smiled too but he cut the moment short before it could be tainted by anything and started talking again.

"Alright. I will put my arms here..." He very deliberately placed one arm on the siderest and the other on the backrest. Klaus couldn't take his eyes off Diego's arm even though he could feel Diego's intense gaze on his face. ".. and I won't move them. Not until the session is over. Do you believe me?"

Klaus finally managed to look at Diego's face. He felt completely lost in this moment. He felt trapped and free all at once and he had a feeling that his face betrayed his emotions, because Diego's facial expression softened. "Do you believe me?"

Looking into those kind, dark eyes, Klaus suddenly realized that he _did_ believe him. So he swallowed and gave a little nod.

"Okay. In a minute, I will close my eyes." Diego moved his feet apart to spread his legs and Klaus' heart pounded away. No... No he couldn't do _that_...!

He was already reeling with uncertainty, when Diego spoke again. "I want you to kneel between my feet and rest your head on my thigh. Nothing more. You can talk and you can move around if you need to. But I want you to stay with your head on my thigh, until I declare that the session is over."

It took a minute for Klaus to register that what he had feared wasn't what Diego had wanted. What Diego wanted was innocent in comparison. It was child's play. It was something that Klaus could do with his hands tied behind his back. Literally. This was nothing. Slowly he dampened his panic and nodded again - rendered mute by all the emotions tumbling around inside of him. This he could do.

Diego nodded once too and smiled a little. "Just remember. Keep your head on my thigh, until I let you loose." Klaus nodded again and Diego closed his eyes. "Alright. When you are ready. Then come and sit with me."

Klaus decided not to wait, until he was ready. That might honestly never happen. So he chomped down on his fear of the situation and let himself slide from the chair onto the floor. He waited there for a moment, while he assured himself that Diego hadn't moved or opened his eyes. When he was certain that that was the case, he crawled the short distance to position himself between Diego's feet. Between his legs. He swallowed hard to ignore that fact and lay down his left cheek on Diego's left thigh so that he was facing the fireplace.

It wasn't comfortable. He hadn't been kneeling for years and the wooden flooring was harsh on his knees. A voice in the back of his head argued that this was no different from what they had been doing earlier. They were still just sitting here. Being quiet. It wanted him to say that to Diego so that he would end the session and they could do something else. Anything else... 

But he knew that it was the fear talking. Because he sure as shit wasn't bored anymore. Not even close. His heart was hammering from the close contact and he could hear blood rushing past his ears. His body was rigid with stress and he hated that he couldn't see Diego's arms. He may have said that he believed him, but there was always a chance that Diego would turn on him.

Maybe this wasn't the best position. Maybe it would be better if he turned to look at Diego instead. That way he would be able to see for himself that he hadn't moved.

Slowly he turned his face so that it was his other cheek that rested on Diego's thigh and he drew in a reassuringly deep breath, when he could confirm that Diego had kept his promise once again. Breathing in he noticed the smells of smoke and iron in Diego's clothes. And a dark and musky scent that had to be Diego's own smell.

"That's right." Diego's voice was calm and seemed deeper than normal. "Control your breathing. Just like in meditation."

Klaus hesitated for a moment but then did, as he was told. He breathed in deep through his nose - held it for a moment - and then blew it out through his mouth. He repeated the exercise. Once. Twice. Slowly he felt his shoulders relax a little. This wasn't so bad. It might even be a little nice. It had been years since he had been this intimate with anybody. And somehow this _was_ intimate, even though he didn't even touch Diego's bare skin.

Diego was an odd man, he thought to himself. He couldn't understand how he was content with this. With what Klaus was able to give him. More than content it seemed when he risked a glance on Diego's face. He seemed genuinely happy to just have Klaus seated like this. To just be allowed to be close to him.

Klaus twisted his head so that he buried his face in Diego's thigh in embarrassment when he realized that he too was happy sitting like this. Sitting between his legs like this felt like a warm embrace even if he wasn't touching more than the one leg. He couldn't make sense of it. Diego made him feel happy and.. And... Safe...

The realization hit him harder than he could have ever imagined. The sensation of the warm embrace intensified and Klaus carefully drew himself closer to Diego and buried his face so high up on his thigh that he had to lean in over the couch a little to do so. He even draped an arm over Diego's leg, so that he was almost hugging himself to it. He didn't concern himself with whether or not Diego would move anymore. He knew that he wouldn't. 

And when this thought registered, something burst inside of him.

A broken sob clawed its way up his throat followed closely by tears that started to stream down into Diego's pant leg. Without having registered it happening, Klaus suddenly had all of his fingers buried deep in the fabric beneath his face, while he sobbed like a child. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." he murmured in between sobs and hated himself for reacting like this, but he couldn't stop it. He knew that this couldn't possibly have been what Diego had wanted from the exercise and he felt terrible for ruining the moment, but it felt like a gate had been opened inside of him and no matter how much he struggled to close it again, all that he could do was to sob and mumble his muffled apologies against Diego's thigh.

"It's okay." Diego's voice was deep with emotion. "You have got nothing to be sorry for." The words made Klaus sob even harder while he desperately clung to his Dominant.

For an endless moment that was all he could do. Cling and cry and say how sorry he was. Through it all was Diego's calm voice that over and over assured him that everything was going to be okay. That he had nothing to be ashamed of and that he was safe with him.

Eventually time came to mean something again. The deep, broken sobs had stilled to a quiet sniffling and Klaus suddenly realized that he at some point had forced his arms around Diego's waist and buried his face against his hip. He didn't move away though. It was more nice than it was awkward and he couldn't remember ever having felt this safe. Not once had Diego gone back on his promise and touched him. Not even in an effort to comfort him. It made Klaus really happy.

"Feel better?"

Diego's voice was quiet and kind and Klaus just nodded and sighed in deep release.

"Good. The session is over but you don't have to go. You can stay if you want. I like having you here."

Klaus only felt a fleeting desire to move away. When it passed, he turned his face to press it against the side of Diego's stomach instead. "I like it too," he mumbled and breathed in deep again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't we all feel better now? I know I do :)
> 
> Thank you to all that have sent me kudos and comments. They make me deeply happy <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is from Diego's POV. We get to know a little about his life and the choices that he has had to make.

It had been almost unbearable not to be able to hold Klaus, while he broke down. It had hurt Diego deeply to sit still and just let Klaus work through it on his own. Because he had known that touching Klaus then would erase that small measure of trust that he had managed to gain through the last couple of weeks. Klaus had clearly been traumatized in a past dynamic. His reactions when a Dominant tried to touch him was proof enough of that. And Diego had decided that he would have to let Klaus set the pace for the development of their dynamic. Forcing Klaus to do anything - let alone submit - wouldn't help him. Not even if Diego knew that that was what he needed.

He had seen it before. Withdrawal. Like it or not there were too many shitty Dominants in this world and they went through submissives like other people went through clean socks. And they treated them about the same too. The injustice of the world was hard to bear at times, but Diego had found an inkling of purpose in helping at least some of these submissives back to themselves. Pulling them back from the ledge they were heading for was emotional work, but he never felt better than when he succeeded in his efforts. He knew that what he was doing was saving lives.

So he had tried to take comfort in the fact that his presence was helping Klaus through it. It had been a tough few minutes, but when Klaus had flung his arms around his waist, Diego had felt emotional too. Klaus was so delicate. So careful not to show how much he hurt. He was numbing himself with drugs all the time to ignore the feelings that were threatening to crush him. And to see him embrace those feelings and seeking comfort for the very first time... Diego had been very moved by it. 

In the days after their breakthrough Diego was very careful not to change anything. The schedule was the same and he treated Klaus the same as always. At first Klaus seemed hesitant to even exist, but eventually he could relax around Diego again. More than relax actually. Now that they had taken the first step on their joint journey, Klaus had almost become a different person. He had started to touch Diego multiple times during the day. Just little gestures like touching his hand when they passed or pausing to test the structure of his beard. 

It felt like he was testing the boundaries of their dynamic to see if anything horrible would happen and Diego was careful not to make any movements that would scare him. He _wanted_ Klaus to be curious. He _wanted_ him to engage with him. And for the time being it would all have to be on Klaus' initiative. Only during their new evening sessions did he dare to be Dominant with him. It was still mostly trust building exercises, but that was okay. He had never dealt with a submissive with such severe trust issues before and just having Klaus resting his head on his knee was almost euphoric. 

One night, during just such a session, Klaus surprised him by asking a question. Usually Klaus was more than preoccupied with just submitting, but lately he had calmed down some and apparently this evening he was able to focus on other things too. 

"Why do you care?" he said, which made Diego look down at him - happy that Klaus had allowed him to do this with open eyes the previous night. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I am nobody to you. You don't know me. You had never met me before. Why the hell do you care what happens to me?"

The question made Diego smile and his chest warmed with the fact that Klaus had just admitted that he knew that Diego's interest was genuine. He didn't address that though. Instead he answered the question. "Because of my mom." He couldn't help but smile a little. It wasn't a happy smile though.

"Your mom?"

Diego nodded. "My mom was a submissive... She was the one who raised my brother and me and she was there for me my entire childhood. I mean, my dad was absent even when he was _in_ the house." He had told the story many times by now, but he still had to swallow back the old tears, when he talked about his mother. It was a hard story to tell, but Klaus was looking so intently at him that he couldn't _not_ tell it again.

"I loved my mom. She was so caring and loving. She made up for my dad's failures as a father... She was the most important person in the entire world to me."

Klaus shifted and Diego felt his own feelings swell up, when he felt Klaus' fingers curl around his own.

"When he died, she fell to pieces. Turned out that she hadn't made a single move throughout my childhood that he hadn't programmed into her mind with brute force... And when he was gone, she had no concept of making choices for herself." He swallowed hard again and remembered how he had often found her just staring at the paintings in the gallery - lost in the void that his death had left her in.

"I never knew." He admitted and tried to break the tension with a little smile that was definitely more sad than anything else. "He had scrambled her mind to pieces right in front of me. He had taken pieces away from her and filled the gaps with himself. And when he was gone, she was just an empty shell." He still felt the remnants of the shock that he had felt back then, when he thought about it now. 

"I tried to help her. Give her what she needed." He saw the change in Klaus' eyes and he shook his head and couldn't help but roll his eyes a little. "No not sexually. Geesh..." He smiled a little to soften his words and continued. "Structure and boundaries. I tried to give her things to do. Tasks to complete. I tried to give her the purpose that she so desperately lacked." 

He sighed deeply and tried to tell the last part without flashing back to the last memory he had of her in the gallery. "But I was only 19. I was just a kid still... I had no idea what I was doing and what I did wasn't helping..." He sighed again and forced the last part out. "She slit her wrist in the end." For a second his mind jumped to the memory but he forced it away by focusing on Klaus. Their eyes locked for the longest time yet and in his gaze, Diego saw that he understood. Of course he did. Klaus had been through plenty of trauma himself.

"So.. I decided then that I would never be a Dominant like my dad and I have kept that promise."

He shrugged a little to end the story and he finally looked away from Klaus again to gather himself a little. Opening up was hard for him too and he had to focus to find back to his true self and not get stuck in the thoughts of his 19-year-old past again. He couldn't afford to do that right now. Not when he had to take care of Klaus.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Klaus' voice was small but genuine enough and Diego sent him a smile. "Thank you."

He drew in a deep cleansing breath and felt like it might have been intimacy enough for the night. "The session is over," he stated softly. "You can get up now if you want to." The last couple of nights Klaus had stayed down for a while after the session had ended, but today he surprised Diego by getting up immediately. 

He had no time to feel disappointed though, because Klaus didn't move away and sit in his regular chair tonight. Instead Diego looked at him with surprise, as he sat down next to him on the couch. Diego still had his hands firmly on the back- and siderest and he didn't move them, when Klaus tugged himself in under his one arm and he could feel Klaus leaning against his side. His heart swelled again with emotion and Diego felt an intense joy of how far Klaus had come in just a few weeks.

"You can put your arm around me if you want to."

Seldom had such a short sentence meant so much to Diego and he had to control himself not to betray how much this meant to him as he slowly put his arm around Klaus' shoulders and held him for the very first time. 

"Thank you." The words were insufficient, but they were all that he had. Knowing that Klaus was letting him in... Was allowing him to help... It meant everything to him.

They sat quietly like that for a while. Diego could feel how tense Klaus was in the beginning - like he was debating making a run for it - but eventually he relaxed somewhat and allowed Diego to do the same.

"What made you start adopting submissives?" Klaus' voice hinted that he mostly just wanted to hear Diego talk instead of sitting here in silence. So Diego played along to make it easier for him. 

"Well, for a while after my mom died, I didn't want anything to do with being a Dominant. I was going through a pretty harsh time of withdrawals, when my brother decided that he had had enough. He dragged me out of my misery and installed me in his house. He pretty much wouldn't leave me alone until I accepted that I couldn't change my biology. I could only change my way of handling my needs." He shrugged a little and smiled because he was sure that Klaus would be drawing parallels between their stories right about now.

"Anyway.. Being in the house with Luther and his wife was healing in a way that I hadn't really expected. Their dynamic is so... Genuine... It made me realize that there were good dynamics in the world too."

Diego felt how Klaus suddenly stiffened against his side.

"Luther is your brother?" Klaus pulled back and out of Diego's embrace to be able to look at his face - alarm visible in his eyes. "Luther as in _Allison's_ husband Luther?!" 

Diego felt confusion sweep over him. "You know Allison?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh oh... What does that mean? :P
> 
> This was a bit different, so let me know if you liked the change in POV or if you prefer to keep it Klaus-centric ^^
> 
> Also, I found out that I can assign my works to multiple series.. So I have made a few that cater to specific characters and stuff like that. Subscribe to the ones you prefer to make sure that you don't miss out, when I start new stories ^^


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am blown away over the attention I am getting for this fic! I love every single one of your reactions and comments <3

Klaus had been listening to Diego's story with quiet fascination. For the very first time he was completely sure that Diego wasn't manipulating him. This story.. His story.. It explained everything. And it allowed Klaus to trust that Diego actually just had his best interest at heart. It allowed him to open up to Diego more and when he snuggled in close to Diego it was just as comforting as it was frightening. It had been a win and Klaus had managed to see just a glimmer of hope that maybe Diego could actually help him.

And then Diego had said  _ that _ .

"Luther is your brother?" Klaus felt his heart starting to hammer in his chest, when he pulled back to look at Diego. "Luther as in  _ Allison's  _ husband Luther?!"

Diego looked puzzled too as he replied; "You know Allison?"

And there it was... He had walked right into the trap. He couldn't see the strings yet, but he was sure that they were there somewhere and that knowledge kicked his breathing into hyperventilating. How could he have fallen for this again? If Diego knew Allison then there was no way that this had all been a coincidence.. No way that Diego had picked him at random like this... It had to have been a plan of some sorts... And if Diego had lied about that, what else had he lied about??

Klaus scooted back along the length of the couch and when he saw Diego try to follow him, he pushed himself right over the siderest and down onto the floor to get away from him. He wasted no time getting up, but just pushed himself backwards over the floor with his hands and feet until he felt the door against his back. Only then did he get up and flung himself outside to get as far away from Diego as possible.

"Stupid, stupid, STUPID." Klaus hit himself on the forehead with his palm, as he ran away - having nowhere to go but without being able to stay. Was he ever going to learn this lesson? He felt betrayed. More betrayed than he had felt in a long time. Suddenly everything made much more sense. Why Allison had taken him to the emergency room even though she knew what would happen there... Why he had been picked off the adoptables' list so quickly. Why Diego knew exactly what to say to make him lower his guard. Allison... Allison had been coaching him. Even the sad sob story about his mother had probably been carefully construed to push at all of his buttons.

He hadn't a goal in mind as he just walked through the dark forest. What did it even matter, where he went? If he met anybody and they suspected that he was an owned submissive and that he had run away, he would be shipped right back to Diego anyway. God how he wished that he had managed to take his pills with him. There was nothing he wanted more right now than to numb himself out of existing for a few days. Just a few hours... With every step, his feelings clawed at him more and more and soon he felt completely raw and broken underneath the weight of it all. He groaned out in exasperation. This was too cruel to go through without drugs.

And then suddenly he remembered... The two joints he had hidden behind the cabin. The thought was alluring and he turned around almost immediately. Diego hadn't found him yet and if he was out looking for him, then he definitely wouldn't expect him to go back to the cabin. Actually... If Diego was out looking for him, then maybe he could even get a hold of his pills too.

He hadn't realized that he had walked this far, but the walk back was a struggle in which he either yearned for drugs or fought not to allow his thoughts to hurt him anymore than they already had.

Unfortunately he saw Diego sitting in the door, when he came close enough to see it. Light surrounded him dully from inside the cabin, so Klaus was pretty sure that Diego wasn't able to see him. But it made this more dangerous. 

For a moment he just stood still and watched Diego before he walked back into the forest a little and then circled around the cabin. When he was sure that he couldn't be seen anymore he stopped and listened to the quiet night. The trouble was of course to get close enough to the cabin without Diego hearing him approaching. He had no intention of letting the man near him right now but on the other hand, he also wasn't going to go through any more of this sober if he could help it.

He had been deliberating for a while, when he heard a car in the distance. Puzzled he listened and even more puzzled realized that it was coming closer. In the time that he had been here, he hadn't even heard the faint sound of a highway somewhere. Not even on their walks. Could Diego have called someone to come out here? Then he shrugged and decided that it didn't matter much, why a car was coming here right now. The important thing was that it was making enough noise that he could get up to the cabin without Diego hearing him.

He made good use of his time and had just reached the cabin when the car pulled up in front of the cabin and - much to Klaus' dismay - shut the engine off. When he reached for the joints he heard two doors open and then close. And then he heard Diego's voice - colder and harder than he had ever heard it before. "I told you, I don't want you here. Get the fuck off my property."

"We are not going anywhere right now." The other voice was deep and masculine and it took Klaus only a moment to realize that it was Luther's voice. He had only heard it a few times when he had dropped off or picked up Allison, but he was sure about it. "Diego, we need to talk about this."

"There is nothing to talk about." Klaus heard a shuffling sound and guessed that Diego had gotten to his feet. He knew that this was the time to disappear with his loot, but something about the scene in front of the cabin had him spellbound and he couldn't even move an inch.

"Yes there is. For one thing, I don't appreciate you talking to Allison that way ..."

He had obviously intended to say more but was cut short by a new voice. "Luther, now is not the time!" Although Klaus had guessed that Allison was there too, it still was like a punch to the stomach to hear her voice. He heard steps and then she continued. "Diego, I am soooo sorry. I know that I should have told you, but I was worried that it would screw things up for you, if you knew that he means something to me. He  _ needs _ you, Diego. And honestly, you need him. This hostel you have been nurturing for the past five years.. It's not enough for you... You need..."

Now it was her time to get caught off as Diego's voice boomed among the trees. "You know what I needed?! I needed to know that your suggestion to find a new submissive was not what you made it seem! I needed to  _ know _ that you had history with him! I needed to be able to tell him that  _ up FRONT _ !! I was finally getting somewhere, Allison..! We had begun to patch up some of his old wounds... He was  _ finally _ trusting me... And because of YOU he is now out there doing God-knows-what to himself! And I can't - even - go - after him, because if I do, then he will see it as an attack!" Something flung through the air and a frightened gasp followed right after it.

"That's enough!" Luther's voice was back and he was angry now. "Diego I get it, I really do... Your submissive is alone and outside of your protection.. But if you throw a knife at my wife again, I will beat you to a pulp even if you are my brother."

"Diego..." Allison's voice was pleading now. "Luther get out of the way! Diego... Let me help you look for him. He is my best friend.. Maybe I can talk to him. Explain.." She stopped short and then Klaus heard a bitter laugh from Diego. "Explain what, Allison? That you manipulated him and forced him into a dynamic that he didn't want to be in in the first place?" The desperate edge wasn't in his voice now, but instead had left it sad and distant. "It will make him run for the hills if he hasn't already. And frankly.. I don't blame him."

"Diego..." Klaus heard more steps following Luther's voice and when Diego spoke again, his voice was slightly muffled. "It's just... Luther, what if he is out there hurting himself?"

"I'm sure he isn't..." Allison's words might aim to be comforting, but her voice shook and she cut herself off.

"He is not our mother," Luther's voice was calm and comforting. "You have got to let go of that fear brother..."

"You didn't see his face... It was like I had stabbed him or something." Diego's voice broke in the middle.

"Let's go inside.. There isn't much we can do right now, but we need to come up with a plan."

Klaus heard hesitant footsteps and then Diego's voice, rushed and hard. "Don't touch me, Allison! This is  _ your fault _ ."

There was a long silence, but eventually the door closed behind them and left Klaus all alone with his thoughts.

The first thing he did was light up a joint and sit down with his back against the wall while he smoked it. His thoughts weren't really coherent enough to make something out of them, but he wasn't as frightened or as hurt as he had been when he had left the house. He wasn't afraid that they had staged that whole scene to manipulate him. That simply wasn't realistically possible. Which meant that he had jumped to conclusions earlier. At least about Diego. Allison was another matter.

When the first joint was gone, he lit the next immediately. He didn't want to go inside and face all of them, but he didn't really want to leave anymore either. Sitting still and smoking seemed like the better option, so that was what he did. Smoked and thought. When the second joint was gone, he settled for just sitting and sifting through his hazed thoughts while dawn slowly crept nearer and nearer. 

It had been light for a couple of hours, when his thoughts were interrupted by the cabin door opening and closing. He heard the steps that he had grown so used to and just knew that Diego would be heading to the shed to split some logs for the fireplace - just like he had done every morning. He wasn't alarmed by this though and when Diego walked passed the corner of the cabin so that Klaus could see him, he cleared his throat a little. 

"Hey." His voice was hoarse but he was at least able to send him a little smile. When he saw the disbelief on Diego's face, his smile widened a little.

"Hey.." Diego seemed both extremely relieved and also frightened to even move, so Klaus gestured to the ground beside him. 

"Don't worry. I'm not running off again." Something had shifted within Klaus during his long night of thinking. And it had shifted enough to know that right in this moment, he was the one who had to reassure Diego and not the other way around. 

Slowly Diego stepped closer and sat down on almost the exact spot that Klaus had pointed to. He didn't speak and they both just sat there for a while - staring into the woods in front of them. Diego seemed for once at a loss for words and Klaus struggled to find a way to say what he had decided only a few hours earlier. 

Eventually though he said "I heard you argue with them last night."

There was a pause and then Diego replied. "Really?"

"Yep." He enunciated the word sharply enough that his lips made a popping sound. "The all inclusive of yelling and knife throwing... It was quite the  _ soirée _ ." He made a theatrical hand gesture to accompany the word and couldn't help but half-chuckle. The tensions lifted a little when Diego returned the smile.

"I really had no idea, you know." The words were hesitant, but Klaus just nodded. "I know. Can I have a joint?"

Carefully Diego drew out the pack and placed a joint in his hand like he had done many times in the last couple of weeks. "It's the last one," he said as he offered it to Klaus.

"How utterly fitting," was all that Klaus had to say as his fingertips slid across Diego's palm to pick it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No cliffhanger ending this time ^^
> 
> So what is the verdict? Was Allison's intentions good enough to outweigh her lapse in judgement? Let me know in the comments :)

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to see more from me, then don't forget to bookmark or subscribe to either my profile or one or more of my series. :) That way you won't miss further updates (and I expect there to be many ^^)


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